Trade Deficit Hits New Record

The government Wednesday said the yawning gulf between imports and exports soared to $60.3 billion in November, led by the cost of crude oil.

The November showing is some 10% more than the consensus forecast of economists, which called for a $54 billion deficit, up from a revised $56 billion gap in October.

The dollar fell in reaction to the report, which stoked new concerns about the government's ability to attract foreign investment.

Exports were $2.2 billion less than October's level of $97.8 billion. Meanwhile, they were $2.0 billion more than the prior month's $153.8 billion. In particular, oil rose by more than $2 billion, or almost 18%, to a record $14.2 billion. Crude oil prices in November fell sharply from their record high of more than $55 a barrel in October.

The goods deficit increased $4.0 billion from October to $64.1 billion, while the services surplus decreased $300 million to $3.8 billion.

The deficit with China slipped $200 million to $16.6, but the trade gap with Japan surged by $1.4 billion to $7.3 billion.